These days, most people are familiar with VOIP even if they don't recognize the word. Voice over Internet Protocol is something that many of us use from time to time or even on a daily basis. Services like Skype are a good example of a VOIP system.

Just What is a PBX? PBX refers to Private Branch Exchange, which sounds a little confusing, but is basically a method of switching phone lines back and forth to connect them in the world of offline communication. When referring to VOIP, the system is essentially the same in concept, only it works over a LAN or WAN network. These are data-oriented rather than circuit switched networks which we use in the real world phone systems.

You see, when you make a call on a VOIP system to a phone, a VOIP PBX or IP PBX, is responsible for making the connection between the virtual and the real life version. This is also in effect when you are calling from one computer to another, but there is no translation necessary between data and traditional phone lines.

With VOIP PBX, it's a very simple matter to create a conference call and have several people in on a call. The technology has made it extremely easy to add new people to a call and without any additional preparation, you'll be able to turn an ordinary phone call into one between several people. This is particularly useful for business calls where several people need to be in on a discussion or for long distance meetings. Families can also use this to connect on one call, no matter where they are in the world. It's an amazing technology that still isn't being used as much as it should.

What Should I Know? VOIP PBX is essential to making your calls online, but in most cases you don't need to know anything about this. In fact, your VOIP provider is going to be responsible for this area. However, it does help to understand what they are talking about and to realize what some of the potential issues are with this type of setup.

The reason some people still refuse to use VOIP is that they worry about the quality and reliability of this form of communication. While this was once a major issue, the technology has progressed to the point that these problems are far less frequent. Before we look at the issues that can arise, it's important to know that when you communicate online, your voice data is divided into smaller pieces, called packets, for sending.

Possible problems include the following: - Too much information being received by the VOIP PBX Consulting at once. - Packet delay, when a packet gets sent through the wrong relays. - Packets getting jumbled up in the sending and reaching the receiver in the wrong order. - Packets arriving at different times at the receiver, causing 'jitter'.

The result of having packets get lost or misdirected is a pause and possible loss of data while speaking. This is part of the reason why there is often a delay when using VOIP. This means you'll need to speak slower when this happens. However, for the most part, the technology works well enough for even business calls and is far more cost effective.

Even though you may not need to know exactly how VOIP PBX works, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the concept. VOIP is a very valuable addition to our communications systems and it is estimated that by 2010, 90% of communications sales will involve VOIP as it is rapidly growing in popularity.